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Espheni
The Espheni, also known as Overlords, are an alien race and the apparent architects of the Invasion of Earth. They use harnesses to command humans and skitters – their enslaved subjects - and appear to have designed the Mechs and the Crawlies. They are seen acting in administrative roles, overseeing the work of skitters and an enslaved Karen Nadler in What Hides Beneath. In Homecoming Pope calls them "Fishheads", and in the next episode Weaver refers to them by that name, but it isn't used again for the rest of season 2. The existence of the Overlords was first hinted at by Uncle Scott, who remarked to Tom Mason that it's unlikely the six-legged Skitters would design bipedal robots like the Mechs. Hal Mason, Tom, and Weaver are the first members of the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment to discover the Overlords, on a scouting mission in Boston about 7 months after the invasion. Tom speculates that if they are the commanders of the Skitters, they might have been staying in the safety of their Motherships up to this point, but now feel it is safe enough to move around the city. In the season one finale, after Tom and Weaver badly damage the Mothership, an Overlord, along with Karen, intercept them. Karen reveals that the Overlords didn't expect so much resistance and that they found that interesting. They also wanted to talk. Tom and Weaver were furious that, after having killed millions of people and taken their children, they now want to negotiate. Despite this, Karen tells Tom that the Overlords can stop Ben's transition into a skitter if he comes with them. Despite Weaver's protests, Tom agrees saying that he can't let them take Ben back. It has been confirmed that they have invaded other worlds as well leading to the skitters becoming their slaves. It seems that throughout their interplanetary conquests they have made other enemies, most notably the Volm, who relentlessly hound the Espheni. The Overlords technology appears to be almost exclusively (besides Mechs, Motherships, and a few others) bio-organic and seemingly "alive" able to control and manipulate it at will. . History The Espheni are originally from another galaxy. At some point a hostile force drove them from their home. This force is the reason the Espheni have been going from planet to planet and conquering its inhabitants. Centuries ago the Espheni invaded and conquered the Volm homeplanet, forcing them into a war which would last up to the 21st century on Earth. The Espheni traveled to many different planets in order to conquer them. The Volm pursued Espheni forces attempting to liberate conquered planets. It is revealed several months after the invasion that the Overlords are the apparent masterminds behind the invasion of Earth. They are first seen by Resistance fighters of the 2nd Mass Tom Mason, Hal Mason and Cpt. Dan Weaver on a scouting mission in the city. Tom believes that the aliens are only now showing themselves because they believe they are safe and have won. It is also known through examination of a Skitter corpse that the Skitters are also slaves due to the discovery of a harness buried in the corpse's spine. The resistance concludes that the Overlords use the Harness to generate the Skitters as a form of slave labor and then shock troops once the victim has been transformed. In the season one finale the Resistance is able to launch a powerful counterattack against the invaders. After discovering that Skitters and Mechs are linked through a radio frequency they come up with a jamming frequency that they use to disorientate and repel an attack on the Resistance base. This leads to a mass retreat by the alien forces back to the mothership in the city. Tom believes that they have managed to confuse and possibly even scare the aliens. Taking advantage of the retreat Tom is able to fire a missile at a fleeing ship that crashes into the Alien structure causing significant damage. As Tom and Weaver are returning to the Resistance meeting point they are confronted by former comrade Karen who has been harnessed weeks ago. Approaching her cautiously Karen addresses Tom and says that the Overlords brought her here because they don't understand. An Alien ship with an Overlord arrives and Karen explains that they did not anticipate such resistance from a less advanced race than their own. This has interested them and they now want to talk. Weaver and Tom are furious at this revelation that the aliens are only now acknowledging their victims when they fight back hard. It is soon revealed that the aliens want specifically to speak with Tom since his son is still under the influence of the Harness conversion process, due to it being removed too late. In exchange for going with the aliens Tom's son would be released from the process; with no other option Tom is forced to leave with the aliens, ending the first season. At the start of the second season, Tom is revealed to be one of many the aliens have "invited" aboard their ships. After being detained for an unspecified length of time, Tom is brought before an Overlord to hear a proposition. Humans will be allowed to live in neutral zones in exchange for the surrender of the Resistance. Tom however sees this as nothing more than a prison camp; arguing with the aliens that their view of humanity as violent and savage is ironic when they attacked mankind in such a genocidal manner. Tom refuses to be relocated, and is released unarmed from the ship where a skitter and mech are waiting as a firing squad. Of the released captives, only Tom is allowed to survive by Red Eye, the rebel skitter's leader. They are later revealed to have invaded the Skitter home world 100 years prior to the invasion of earth where they ravaged the planet and enslaved the population. However, in that time, some of the skitters had found a way to oppose the Overlord's control, rendering the harnesses useless. By the time of the Earth invasion a small rebellion movement had arisen in the skitter ranks who became more active having been inspired by humanity's defiance in the face of invasion. Fearful of their own slaves revolting the Overlords attempted to recapture Ben Mason who had been in contact with the rebellion leader Red Eye. Their plan to capture him nearly succeeds but is stopped by the arrival of the 2nd Mass. who manage to capture an Overlord. Unbeknownst to them, the Overlord is the sole military commander of the eastern half of North America. The Second Massachusetts and the Skitter Rebellion unite and launch an attack on an unknown Espheni weapon site, where they know the Overlord will be. Invading the facility, the 2nd Mass is baffled when the weapon is aimed at the sky rather than at them, hinting at the arrival of the Volm. Upon setting plastic explosives at the base of the facility, they are captured by a horde of Skitters and greeted by Karen. After being tortured by her, members of the Skitter Rebellion rescue them. Within the turmoil of the battle, the leader of the Skitter Rebellion attacks the Overlord and is killed. Their battle reveals the previosly unknown fact that the Overlord's are either armed with a blade strapped to their wrist, or they possess a sharpened spike as part of their anatomy. As the Overlord is killing Red Eye, Tom grabs the staff used to torture them with and proceeds to engage the Overlord. The fight is very one sided, and is quickly over as Tom repeatedly smashes the Overlord's head. The strength of the Espheni species comes into question at this point, because the Overlord was capable of throwing Red Eye easily through the air, yet is unable to overpower Tom with a staff. In the aftermath of the battle, pod-like ships rain down from the sky and one lands near the 2nd Mass. who are at this point back in Charleston. Inside, a new alien emerges and it is presumed that the Overlords tried to stop this race of beings from entering Earth. Biology Overlords are tall humanoid bipeds with smooth gray skin, standing roughly twice as tall as a human and three times as tall as a skitter, though compared to a human their body is skinny and elongated. Their graceful gait indicates that they are able to move about easily in Earth gravity. Their overall features are somewhat fleshy and blubbery, though their proportions are quite skinny so they do not appear bloated. They do not have a very pronounced neck: while their head is fairly far away from their shoulders, powerful neck muscles smoothly transition from the torso to the head. The top of the head possesses a fairly rounded bullet-shaped point. Indeed, of their facial features only the eyes are particularly prominent, with well-defined eye sockets and seemingly mammalian eyes, spaced only slightly further apart than on a human. Otherwise, they have very weak and poorly defined chins, small and difficult to observe ears, and a poorly defined nose. They actually don't have a "nose" so much as the forehead smoothly slopes down between the eyes down to the upper lip, which in turn slopes down their poorly defined chin into their "neck". They do possess four nostril-slits, two on each side of the head, but much higher than on a human. The small nostrils are located close to the inner corner of each eye. They do seem to have a normal vertebrate mouth, though it is made clear in Worlds Apart they are not capable of speech and are instead able to speak through humans telepathically and make grunts if pain is inflicted upon them. Overall, the upper body gives the vague impression of a humanoid dolphin; hence Pope's nickname for them: Fishheads. The body itself is thin and elongated, but lithe and sinewy. They seem almost unnaturally flexible and graceful, willowy but well-muscled. They seem to possess the same general body plan as a human, just with different proportions (i.e. they do not have digitigrade leg joints, like the Mechs). While nearly twice as tall as a human, they have been observed "stooping" to move around in the hallways of human buildings, without too much trouble. The wounding of an Overlord in Molon Labe suggests that their internal physiology is vastly different from humans, far greater than their outward appearance would suggest, as Anne was apparently unable to find a way to remove the bullet or stop the bleeding. Their blood is also blue, suggesting that the species uses hemocyanin - a copper-based protein - as the basis for their circulatory fluids (similar to Earth arthropods e.g. spiders, crustaceans and insects), unlike mammals which use the iron-based protein hemoglobin. This may also explain the inability to stop the bleeding in a wounded Espheni as species with a Hemolymph system tend to simply fill their bodies interior with blood, bathing the internal organs directly with oxygen & nutrients via venous channels rather than having a developed system of veins & arteries, although it must be noted that hemolymphatic circulatory systems can exist. The events of'' Molon Labe'' also seem to indicate that Overlords are deaf and mute without the use of a harnessed helper, or at the very least incapable of understanding and emulating human speech without assistance. The Overlords have incredibly advanced brains and are able to store unfathomable amounts of data in their heads. Consequently, they don't need or use computers Despite their frail appearance and their preference not to fight, the Overlords possess incredible physical strength and are more than capable of holding their own in a fight. This was demonstrated when the Overlord managed to break the heavy metal chains meant to restrain him doing little more than standing up and swinging his arms. Later he took on Red Eye and mortally wounded him, albeit with his blade. Society Little is known about the Esphenis' society and beliefs, but'' what the Overlord said to Tom in Worlds Apart is true, they find the notion of killing and oppressing one's own species morally disgusting. What is known about the Overlords is that they have no qualms when it comes to wiping out and enslaving other races by the billions, though this could be a desperate tactic they use during a war as it's known that they have been in a long raging war with the Volm alien race for hundreds of years. They also appear to be somewhat arrogant, thinking little of humans, and looking down on them. This arrogance may stem, at least in part, from their incredibly advanced intelligence. The Overlords appear to be a naturally calm species, seen when an Overlord shows little fear when Tom had a gun pointed at his head. They also seem to have a very cold outlook on life , viewing sentiment, compassion, and love as weaknesses. The Overlords also care nothing for their slaves, shown to be more than willing to kill them so as to make a point. In ''Molon Labe, Karen speaks to Hal as he escorts her about how everything in the universe is interconnected from every star in the night sky right down to the smallest subatomic particle, and if you understand the web of connections you can make solid predictions, though there are always variables. It is unknown if this is an Overlord philosophy, but with Karen insisting the original Karen is long gone, the idea may be from the Overlords. It is revealed in A More Perfect Union the Overlords have specific command sectors. The Overlord that was captured and later killed by Tom Mason was in command of all forces in "eastern North America". The exact borders of these command zones haven't been revealed. Interactions with Humans The Overlords at first held little regard for humans as evident by the invasion, and if the harnessed Karen's words are anything to go by in "What Hides Beneath" they viewed humanity as vermin to be exterminated if they crossed paths. However, by the season finale they are intrigued by Humanity's resistance; surprised that a less advanced race has been able to hinder them to such a degree. In the episode "Worlds Apart" an Overlord told Tom Mason that if humanity surrendered the Overlords would set aside special camps for humans to live in peace, this of course may have been a lie. Such camps would be analogous at best to the ghettos formed for Jews in Poland by the Nazi Germans during World War 2, or forcing Native Americans along the Trail of Tears to Indian reservations. This similarity is noted by Tom Mason in his rejection of the alien's proposal. The alien's retort is to refer to far more sudden but just as devastating events. After the destruction of their Boston ship, the Espheni took a far harsher, direct stance on humanity. They established ghettos across the planet, not tolerating any dissedence. They also took to taking children, and instead of harnessing them, tried to gain their support through proganda. Notable Members It is hard to tell the overlords apart due to the lack of individual identifying features. Really, any of the following overlords could be any other. All we know for sure is we have only once seen two at the same time, so we can be sure there are at least two, and a maximum possible of four individuals seen so far on the series. Two Commanding Overlords Two Overlords were seen observing and/or commanding three Skitters doing what appears to be a patrol mission in Boston. It's very likely these were the first Overlords seen by the resistance; though all that is known for sure is that they are definitely the first of their kind seen by the 2nd Mass. Overlord (Worlds Apart) The Overlord was first seen in Season 1 making his first appearence in the episode What Hides Beneath when he arrived with a harnessed Karen at Sonya Rankin's apartment complex as he was searching for Tom and the others, in exchange for information the Espheni would take care of her. He was seen again in the season finale, Eight Hours exiting his airship with Karen as he tried to convince Tom to join him on the ship in exchange for information on Ben and the harnessing process. A captured Tom is brought before the Overlord who makes mankind an offer of "Sanctuary" in exchange for mankind's surrender. Tom calls this little better than a prison camp and the alien reveals they have studied mankind's aggressive history. Tom asks why the aliens attacked since humanity was interested in peaceful contact when they came. The Overlord then lists mankind's violent history with disgust calling mankind primitive and inherently aggressive with the invasion being the best recourse, then demands Tom take the offer. Tom refuses before attacking the Overlord with a shock stick before being subdued. Later in the season, in Molon Labe, the same Overlord is taken prisoner by the 2nd Mass. A harnessed Karen starts negotiating for the Overlord's release and tells Tom Mason that the Overlord is the same one Tom spoke to in Worlds Apart. Tom eventually shoots this Overlord when he endangers Ben's life, wounding it. Anne does her best to patch the Overlord up, and the 2nd Mass leaves it behind with Karen. It is revealed in A More Perfect Union this Overlord survived and began construction on an Unidentified Overlord Cannon. The 2nd Mass, given the location by the Skitter Resistance, was able to infilitrate the site. He later arrived with Karen, watching as she tortured several of the 2nd Mass members to discover how they were able to discover its location. Tom was just about to give in when the Skitter Resistance attacked, overwhelming the Skitters loyal to the Overlord. After mortally wounding "Red Eye", the Overlord was killed by Tom Mason using an electric weapon to bash it several times in the head. Karen Nadler Seven months after the Volm landed, the Skitter Rebellion learned of Karen's promotion to Overlord, replacing the one Tom had killed several months earlier, who was even more sinister than her predecessor. When informed Tom and Weaver quickly guessed that it was Karen. During this time Hal went to visit Karen in the woods because of his Eye Worm. Scorch After the establishment of the ghettos, Scorch is seen observing a human graffiti the image of the vigilante, Ghost (Tom Mason), on the wall. He then issues a message calling for the the vigilante to be captured, before warning that if he is not, the humans will be completely exterminated. Unlike most Espheni, Scorch is seen wearing some form of distinct armor, and seems to possess wrinkles, implying possible age. The Monk Not much is known about this Overlord other then having a possible connection with Alexis Glass-Mason. It is also wearing noticeably different wardrobe from past Espheni warriors, it's current agenda is unknown. Behind the Scenes *When the new bipedal aliens which came to be called Overlords were first introduced in episode 1x8 ("What Hides Beneath), the Falling Skies official website ran video clips of them. Due to some sort of miscommunication or delay with the marketing department, these clips appear to be of an earlier concept design, possibly just placeholder CGI. *This earlier artwork depicts them being roughly shorter, but with a more masculine look, covered in blocky armor, with thin rounded Grey alien heads. The chosen version which actually aired is much more taller and amphibious in appearance. *In Season 1 & 2, the movements of the Overlords were created by actors using computerized motion capture. In Season 4 the production team chose to go with practical suits mixed with computerized motion capture due to more of an onscreen presence in the season. Falling Skies app, Molon Labe Sources Category:Aliens Category:Skitters Category:Technology Category:Species Category:Espheni